Best Computer Configuration For Graphic Design

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What Is The Best Computer Configuration For Graphic Design?

As a Graphic Designer, you never want to be limited by hardware. Your workstation should be able to handle large files, while multitasking, without breaking a sweat. This way you can focus on the creative.

If you are looking to build a PC specifically for Graphic Design, there is a lot to consider. What is the best computer configuration? What parts do you need? Which parts are compatible? I will do my best to answer these questions below.

But first, you need to know what kind of design work will you be doing? In addition, the budget is another factor that needs to be considered.

If you are on a tight budget and are running mainly Adobe Creative Cloud programs, like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Indesign, you can still spec out a build to meet your needs. However, with the demands of Graphic Design changing, and considering you probably want to multitask, hardware should be carefully selected.

There are 7 parts you will need when building a computer for Graphic Design (not including the monitor). For every kind of part, there are a plethora of options out there.

We will dive into assessing each part, as it relates to Graphic Deisgn usage, to see what is important for your specific needs.

If you are in a hurry and want to see 3 specific builds I have put together, click here to jump to the build section.

What Parts Do You Need To Build A PC For Graphic Design?

CPU For Graphic Design PC Build:

The Processor or CPU is the central processing unit. Its basic job is to receive inputs and deliver the appropriate output. Having the right processor is key for graphic designers, as they need to run multiple applications and processes at the same time.

Nowadays, processors can handle tasks one at a time, or concurrently on multiple “cores”. So you would think more cores is better. However, most design software is optimized to use high core clock. As opposed to multiple cores.

For example, a 6-core, 3.6 ghz CPU is faster than a 24-core, 3.0 ghz CPU.

It is important to note; if you are doing some rendering and video editing, high core-counts and high clock-cores will give you better performance. If you are looking for a well-rounded CPU, generally speaking, high core-clocks is more important than more cores.

Here are the three CPUs from Intel I recommend for Graphic Design PC builds.

RAM For Graphic Design PC Build

Another important component in a Graphic Design PC build is the RAM, or Randon Access Memory. This is where a computing system stores data that it is actively using. If the files you are working on are bigger in size than the available space in RAM, your system will slow down.

How much RAM do you need for Graphic Design? It really depends on how big the files you are working on are, and what features in Adobe Creative Cloud Apps you use. Also if you are multitasking.

Adobe recommends a minimum of 8 Gb. However, in my experience using Photoshop daily (large files, and running multiple programs at the same time), 32 GB minimum is preferred. If you are working with a higher budget, go with 64 GB.

GPU For Graphic Design PC Build
(The Graphics Card)

The GPU, or Graphics Processing Unit, also known as Graphics Card, is a chip that handles all the display functions. Critical for Graphic Design, the GPU renders everything from images, videos, and user interactions to the screen.

The good thing for Graphic Designers is that most of their tasks are not GPU intensive. Most Graphic Design Tasks are handled by CPU, RAM, and Graphics Card Video RAM.

This is one area you don’t have to break the bank over. However, if you do any motion design work, you should consider a more expensive GPU.

Even if you don’t do any motion or video work, you still want a competent GPU that will render visuals smoothly on your display.

Here are three Graphics Cards I recommend for Graphic Design PC builds. Three price tiers.

Storage Drives, HDD, SSD For Graphic Design PC Builds

In terms of storage, Graphic Designers need to have a lot. From high-resolution images to files with hundreds of layers, a storage drive can fill up quickly.

Storage drives have improved significantly over the past few years. We used to rely on Hard Disc Drives (HDD) Which is essentially a spinning disc.

Nowadays, Solid State Drives (SSD) are almost always preferred for data storage. They are much faster and more durable with no moving parts.

Even a budget Graphic Design build should get a SSD, with 500 GB as a starting point. I recommend the Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD 500GB.

This Samsung 970 Evo is a NVMe SSD, which is about 5 times faster, for not much more in cost, than a normal SSD in read and write performance. If you want to learn more about SSDs and the different options for Graphic Design use, check out our article here.

Motherboards have other features that you will need to consider when building your Graphic Design PC. Most notably, having lots of USB ports is a no-brainer. Also, a LAN port is a must and you might want a built-in WiFi unit.

In terms of additional PCI-E slots for GPU, unless you are planning for heavy 3D motions design work, Graphic Designer won`t need more than one.

Power Supply For Graphic Design PC Builds

Sometimes overlooked, but super important is the power supply. You want to make sure the power supply can run your other parts with ease.

Future-proofing your PC power supply should be another consideration. If you plan on upgrading your GPU or other components, you should go with a more powerful unit from the start.

All the power supplies that we recommend below in the builds section range between 850 and 1200 watts.

You can check to make sure your build has an adequate power supply using a watt calculator.

Case For Graphic Design PC Builds

Choosing a case can be a bit of an afterthought. After all, the fun part is choosing all the parts. You will have to decide for yourself, whether you value form or function. But I’m guessing Graphic Designers probably want their PC build to look good.

How your computer case looks should not be the only consideration when choosing the best case for a PC build. You need to make sure the case has enough air-flow to cool the components.

In order to future-proof your set-up, you should get a case that has extra room for future expansion.

Here are three Cases that are solid options for Graphic Design PC builds:

Monitor For Graphic Design PC Builds

Understanding why Monitors have so much of a difference in price can be confusing. For this reason, I will break it down as simply as I can.

So why are professional monitors so expensive? Simply put, it comes down to the way color is displayed. As a Graphic Designer, color accuracy is important. For this reason, you probably want to invest in a quality Monitor.

Generally speaking, the more expensive Monitors have a minimum of 90% Adobe sRGB spectrum coverage. Where-as, the budget options usually have 70% to 80% Adobe sRGB spectrum coverage.

In terms of bit depth, Graphic Designers should only need 8bits per channel. Most files formats that Graphic Designers deal with export at 8bits.

How do you choose a Monitor size and resolution for Graphic Design? For me, having worked in Graphic Design for more than 15 years, in various digital and print-related roles, I recommend two 27-inch monitors, if you can afford it.

Anything less than 27 inches, won’t allow for a 1920 x 1080 px Photoshop document to be displayed at 100% scale, while still having your layers visible.